The direct-to-consumer drug site aims to lower prescription drug costs for Americans.
On Thursday, President Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx. The direct-to-consumer website will aid in the administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices in the United States.
Trump made the announcement alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“Starting tonight, dozens of the most commonly used prescription drugs will be available at dramatic discounts for all consumers throughout a new website is called TrumpRx.gov,” said President Trump at the White House event.
“We were essentially subsidizing the entire world and subsidizing by hundreds of billions of dollars every year. The United States is just 4 percent of the world’s population and consumes only 13 percent of all prescription drugs. Yet pharmaceutical companies have been making 75 percent from these drugs. Think of it. 75 percent of the money they made came from the United States,” continued the president.
The website does not sell prescription drugs directly to consumers but directs them to drugmakers that are offering discounts on medicines on their own direct-to-consumer sites. TrumpRx also offers discount coupons to take to pharmacies when filling a prescription.
The website notes that “TrumpRx discounted pricing is only available for cash-paying patients.” The discounts are not designed for patients paying through insurance.
“You should not be buying drugs anymore, going forward, without at least checking to see if those medications are available at these discounted prices,” said Dr. Oz at the White House event on Thursday.
Recently, Trump met with drugmakers to negotiate lower prices and to offer discounts on the TrumpRx platform.
TrumpRx features medications from the first companies to strike pricing deals with the administration. AstraZeneca, Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer are the companies featured on the platform. The administration plans to add drugs from other companies in the coming months.
Pfizer is the largest participant so far with over 30 medications listed on the site.
As part of the deals struck between Trump and drug companies, weight loss treatments developed by Lilly and Novo Nordisk will be covered by Medicare. Many employers are hesitant to cover those drugs.
Prescription drug prices in the United States are two to three times higher on average than those developed abroad, according to TrumpRx. The launch of the site comes as President Trump aims to lower prescription drug prices for Americans and make health care more affordable.
The monthly list price for the diabetes drug Ozempic is roughly $1,000. On TrumpRx, the drug is priced at $350 per month, which is less than half of that total cost.
The administration also announced that cash-pay discounts are in place for fertility drugs such as Gonal-F from EMD Serono, which TrumpRx listed at $168. This represents an 83% discount, down from $966 for the pen.
Cetrotide, another IVF drug is offered at a 93% discount on TrumpRx. Ovidrel is offered at a 67% discount.
“One in three families is having trouble having a baby. We’re gonna have a lot of Trump babies with these costs, folks cannot afford these medications. It’s gonna change their lives,” said Dr. Oz at the White House event.
President Trump has increasingly focused on his “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing initiative, which seeks to encourage drug makers to sell medicines in the United States at the lowest price that they are sold abroad.
The announcement of TrumpRx comes as President Trump focuses on affordability and prioritizes lowering health care and prescription drug costs for Americans.
